1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective foot pad, and more particularly, to an inexpensive, easily applied and removed, disposable foot pad for a dancer that is largely invisible to an audience during a performance by the dancer.
2. Description of Related Art
Many performances, particularly so-called modern dances, rely for part of their effect on the perception that the performer is barefoot. However, to dance with no foot protection can cause injuries such as blisters, friction burns, skin tears, and splinters. Obviously, these types of injuries can be serious for dancers, who must take special care of their feet. In addition, dancing barefoot increases the risk of slipping or falling. The drawbacks of some of the prior attempts at providing foot protection for dancers that avoids these problems are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,457.
Prior foot protectors appear to fall into two broad types. The first uses some form of truncated stocking with a floor contacting surface. This type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,051,457, as well as U.S. Patent Publs. Nos. 2006/0107444, 2006/0179549, and 2006/0196078. Similar types of footwear, although not necessarily intended specifically for dancers, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,308,483, 1,452,302, 2,248,303, 2,572,152, 4,651,354, and 7,107,626, and in UK Patent Appln. No. 2,378,891. The second type of prior protective footwear for dancers is secured to the foot by straps that hold a protective pad in place at the desired location on the foot. This type of protective footwear is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,237,652, 4,277,897, 6,018,888, and D520,217, and WO99/51117.
Both types of foot protectors are generally effective in avoiding problems encountered by dancing barefoot. However, they have drawbacks. For one thing, they are relatively expensive to be discarded after only one use, especially for recreational dancers, which means that either they must be worn even though they are soiled or they must be cleaned frequently. Another drawback is that they can be seen by an audience during a performance, which detracts from the esthetic value of the dance. And straps that hold the footwear in place can themselves cause blisters.
There are hand and foot shields that can adhere directly to the skin, examples of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,465, German Patent No. DE 30 04 496, and Japanese Laid-Open Applns. Nos. 11-332602, 200132116, and 2001-218789. In addition, there are numerous compositions for sheets that adhere directly to the skin, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,217,853 and U.S. Patent Publs. No. 2003/0168118 and No. 2006/0034905. However, none of these products are constructed for use as disposable foot protectors for dancers (or others who require foot protection of a similar nature, such as gymnasts, those practicing martial arts, etc.).